Kansas Jayhawks Star Hunter Dickinson on His Rough Senior Season: “Adversity is All About How You Get Up”

Hunter Dickinson #1 of the Kansas Jayhawks drives to the basket against Landon Lewis #22 of the Brown Bears (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)

Kansas Jayhawks star Hunter Dickinson is coming off of his finest performance of the season.

The 7-foot-2 fifth-year senior scored a season-high 33 points on 15-for-23 shooting (65.2%) with 10 rebounds in his final home game at Allen Fieldhouse, an 83-76 win over the No. 24-ranked Arizona Wildcats.

The Jayhawks ended the season with a 20-11 record, their 35th 20-win season over the past 36 years. However, the season hasn't been all smooth – Kansas is unranked for the first time since the 2020-21 season. Furthermore, prior to their upset win over the Wildcats, the Jayhawks lost two close games against ranked opponents in the No. 3 ranked Houston Cougars and the No. 10-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders.

 "It's not been all sunshines and rainbows for me here at Kansas," says Dickinson in a one-on-one interview with RG on behalf of TurboTax. "Obviously we have our ups and our downs. The main thing for me is, just take the bad and the good all of it together. You're going to battle through some adversity in life.

"Everybody saw that Rick Pitino quote, that message that he had at halftime saying whenever you face some adversity, don't wilt, don't fall down," Dickinson continues to say.

"Adversity is all about how you respond and how you get up. That's the game of life – not just the game of basketball."

The 24-year-old will look to end his collegiate career on a high note with his first National Championship. Dickinson stresses that's still the objective despite the up-and-down 2024-25 season for the Jayhawks. Kansas entered each of the past two seasons as the preseason No. 1-ranked team. However, they were eliminated in the second round of the NCAA tournament last season.

They'll look to avoid that same fate this time around. Dickinson led his previous team, the Michigan Wolverines, to a Sweet 16 and an Elite 8 appearance. Dickinson gives credit to longtime Jayhawks head coach Bill Self for making him not only a better basketball player, but a better man moving forward in his life.

 "Coach Self has done a really good job of teaching us not only basketball lessons, but also life lessons in general," says Dickinson. "He creates not only good basketball players, but great men in general. Those are some of the things that I'm gonna try to take with me for the rest of my life."

Dickinson was the No. 1-ranked player in the transfer portal back in 2023. He had his choice of some of the top teams in the country after a prolific career at Michigan that included being named a Second-Team All-American while winning the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award.

The 7-foot-2 big man had offers from Villanova, Kentucky, Maryland and Georgetown before ultimately settling on the Self-led Jayhawks. He details that Self – a two-time National Champion head coach – had a lot to do with that decision.

While it hasn't been smooth sailing at Kansas with the realistic possibility that the Jayhawks could go two straight seasons as the preseason No. 1 without a National Championship, Dickinson says he doesn't regret his decision at all.

 "I don't think I would've traded my experiences here at Kansas for anything," says Dickinson. "The things I learned here, the things I've experienced here have really been life lessons and something that I think will propel me into whatever I do after Kansas."

Self, who recently led the Jayhawks to a National Championship in 2022 just prior to Dickinson's arrival, has been instrumental in shaping Dickinson's mindset of showing up with "energy and passion" even if it isn't a smooth road.

 "The most notable advice that he's given me is to show up every day," says Dickinson. "If you're working real jobs or whatever you're doing, you're not going to feel great every day you go to work. Some days you're going to feel better than others, but you have a job to do.

"Obviously, what we're trying to apply to it is basketball," Dickinson continues to say.

"Players aren't going to always feel 100%, – you're going to feel sore, you're going to have some aches and bruises. Especially now with this NIL landscape where you're getting paid to play, you have to show up to work every day with a great attitude, great mindset, energy and passion."

With Dickinson preparing for the NBA Draft after his college career ends this year, he says Self's life lessons will apply wherever he takes it, whether that's in basketball or a career off of the court. Dickinson is projected to either be selected in the second round or go undrafted.

 "That's something that I'll try to take away with me is, whatever you're doing in life, you're getting paid to do a job," says Dickinson. "You have to come to that job with passion and energy regardless of how you're feeling and complete and fulfill your job."

Dickinson will look to "complete and fulfill" his collegiate career with a National Championship as the Jayhawks enter the NCAA tournament with some momentum.